Indian news round-up

Barabati stadium gearing up for first onedayer:The Secretary
of the Orissa Cricket Association (OCA), Ashirbad Behera, said in
Cuttack on Saturday that the Barabati stadium is gearing up for the
first oneday international featuring India and Zimbabwe on December 2.

Speaking to reporters, Behera said that the renovation work cost Rs 20
crores for the association. The Stadium was badly damaged during last
year's cyclone that swept across the state. He said that a new 500
seat capacity pavilion and a 40 seat air conditioned VIP box have also
been added to the existing facilities at the stadium.

The chief groundsman Achuti Rout, said that the match would be a high
scoring affair since the pitch was likely to favour the batsmen. The
BCCI pitches committee comprising G.Kasturi Rangan and Dhiraj Parsanna
which had earlier inspected the ground on November 5 had praised the
groundsmen for the fine job they had done.

Journalist face tough time at Kotla press box

The first day of the India-Zimbabwe Test at the Ferozshah Kotla proved
to be a nightmare for the journalists. The press men who came for the
coverage of the match found no place to sit in the press box and this
lead to a tiff between them and the DDCA officials.

Press Trust of India reported that the Kotla press box which was
erected during the 1996 World Cup has been shrinking with every
passing match. The agency said that the DDCA had provided space for
only 70 journalists even as the Delhi Sports Journalists Association
had requested for 150 seats forcing latecomers to keep standing or sit
on the steps.

The issue was made worse when the journalists refused to take the
lunch provided by the DDCA and went on to make their own arrangements.
PTI said that the official scorers in the press box had also joined
the protest. However, former cricketer and the DDCA vice-president
Chetan Chauhan intervened to appease the journalists by assuring them
with the provision of more seats.

Kumble's injury similar to Srinath's, says Fergusson

The renowned South African arthroscopic surgeon Dr Fergusson said in
Coimbatore that the injury suffered by Leg spinner Anil Kumble is
similar to the one experienced by Seamer Javagal Srinath.

Fergusson, who examined Kumble in Chennai earlier this week, said ``I
have examined Kumble for about 40 minutes and he has developed
shoulder problem on his bowling arm.'' and added that once Kumble was
relieved of the problem, he could play for another 10 years easily.

On the chances of performing a surgery, Fergusson said he had given
some instructions to Kumble's personal therapist and also to team
physio Andrew Leipus and the decision on surgery would be taken only
after observing his progress.

The Secretary of the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) S Haridas said
in Perinthalmanna that the state selectors have retained the same team
that took on Goa for their South Zone Ranji Trophy match against
Karnataka scheduled to be played at Kochi from November 22 to 25.
Kerala has 10 points from the matches played so far against Andhra,
Hyderabad and Goa.